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Top 10 Tips for Back to School

1. Read your school newsletter to know what's going on, when, and how to get involved.

2. Have a master calendar in your phone or a datebook and keep all dates in one place. Sport schedules, after school programs, dismissal times, playdates, birthdays, holidays...

3. Get to school on time to model time management. Our children learn from us.

4. Schedules! Set bedtimes and wakeup times. If your mornings are rushed, make getting ready for the morning part of your bedtime routine: lay out clothes, find shoes, pack lunches, even set the coffee machine the night before.

5. Set up a homework zone in your home with all supplies easily accessible.

6. Lunches: if you pack lunch let your kids help. They are more likely to eat what they pack themselves. Plan a list of menus with your child.

7. Designate a "paper place" for school notices and party invites, such as a family bulletin board where the school calendar is posted.Enter the info into your master calendar while dinner is cooking or while on the phone

8. Volunteer to get involved in school. And if you volunteer with a friend, you can multi-task as you socialize and cross off volunteer time!

9. Communicate with your teachers whether email, phone or text. Make sure you have an easy way to communicate.

10. Family Dinnerconversations are a time to listen to your kids and help them get in the habit of sharing their day with you before they hit their teens and might not want to. Build that bond and open the lines of communication.